In recent years, malicious programmers have attempted to acquire sensitive information (such as account credentials, credit card details, etc.) from unsuspecting computer users by masquerading as trustworthy entities in electronic communications. This technique, commonly known as “phishing,” often involves enticing a user to enter sensitive information into an illegitimate website that imitates the look and feel of a legitimate website (such as a banking website).
While solutions for detecting phishing attacks exist, many anti-phishing techniques require that a user manually verify phishing detections since the heuristics employed by such conventional solutions are often not sufficiently accurate to produce dependable results. These solutions also typically require that users manually create and/or maintain a list of websites that are to be protected, which may result in less-than-optimal protection if users fail to create or maintain such a list.